Magic Show

Jammy has been sniffling and coughing since he and Macho got home from their trip to Chattanooga for Thanksgiving.  By the time Mom picked him up from school today, his voice was almost gone. 

This cannot be, because Jammy has a lot of speaking to do in the upcoming "Holiday Moosical." Mom took him home and wrapped a scarf around his neck, and got out the neti-pot to rinse out Jammy's sinuses before bed.

At first Jammy complained about the neti-pot, but when he realized how awesome it was, he was excited.

"I could do a magic show for my friends, and we could take a little pot with no writing on it, and I could make water come out of the other side of my nose - for one of my tricks!"

And later, "Mom, I know what we could do for some money.  If someone never saw it before, they could pay $20, and you or I could make water come out the other side of our nose!"

Mom doesn't want to break the news to Jammy that there are people all over Youtube who are just letting people watch for free (netipot video).

Espanol

Jammy is learning Spanish at school (video).

Macho has been taking Spanish lessons from Dora the Explorer (video).

Thanksgiving Day

Jammy and Macho went to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Thanksgiving.

In the morning, they took Mom and pApa downtown, over the Market St. Bridge to Coolidge Park.  After they played for awhile at the park, Macho had to go to the bathroom.  Uh-oh! They were a long walk from the car, so they ran around looking for a place to go.

Waiting for crepes outside Crepe-a-delic, singing about little monkeys jumping on the bed.

They found a place that was open, called Crepe-a-delic, where, as luck would have it, the boys could also eat some gourmet crepes.  Jammy and Macho shared a "Seven Dwarves" crepe with apples, caramel, and cinnamon, while Mom and pApa shared a "Shroom Head" (mouthwateringly amazing).

After that it was almost time to go see the Chattanooga family, so they ran back across the bridge, rode back to the hotel, changed their clothes, and went to see the Gunn's for some family time.

Click here for a slideshow of some of Jammy & Macho's Thanksgiving pictures.

Jammy was thankful that there were lots of cool kids to talk to.

Macho was thankful that there was a kitty.

Macho's New Shoes

When Macho got his fancy new clothes this week, Mom thought, Why doesn't Macho have any dress shoes? I should get him some to go with his fancy clothes.

Today Macho wore his new shoes, for the first time, to Sunday school.

They were mint, fresh out of the box, when he left the house, . . .

. . . and this is what they looked like when he got home.

Turkey Costumes

At school today, Jammy was supposed to decorate a turkey with a disguise to help him avoid being eaten for Thanksgiving dinner.

LEGO Indiana Jones Turkey

Jammy Says . . .

. . . with a shudder, while sitting in the minivan, buckled into his booster seat, "My life is really scary."

Mom, "What?"

Jammy, "Well, I'm talking about when I was a kid.  I fell off of the roof and broke a rock, and I fell at the park and broke my arm." (both happened over 3 years ago, when he was 3)

Mom, "What about last year when you broke your arm in your tap dancing class?"

Jammy, "What?!? I broke my arm in my tap dancing class?" (less than a year ago)

Thanksgiving Crafts

Mrs. C. does not mess around.  Macho has spent approximately 6 hours in preschool this week, and during that time he made a placemat, a teepee, a painted wooden block (turkey), a paper plate pumpkin pie, plastic spoon pilgrims, a pinecone turkey, and had an individual as well as class group portrait made.

oh, and the pilgrim hat, too

By the way, Macho was very well behaved at school today.  He was wearing his "good boy" uniform.

Some of Macho's Thanksgiving bounty

Picture Day

Macho is so proud of his handsome little self this morning.  No walking to school today because these clothes need to stay clean and dry until picture time.

Mom took a picture before school, because who knows what he'll look like by picture time.

Macho has picture day tomorrow at school.  Jammy said, "Macho ALWAYS has picture day." It does seem that way.  Is it just a North Carolina thing to do fall and spring school pictures?
Anyway, it was motivation for Mom to take Jammy and Macho to Kohl's super quick to get some "dress up" clothes for the upcoming holiday season.  Sheesh! That was the toughest 6 minutes of the whole day.  Jammy and Macho have not been socialized to be in department stores, mainly because Mom just really tries to avoid bringing them there - ever!
Jammy did pick out his own outfit, which he loves and would wear to school tomorrow if that was allowed. Macho didn't have an opinion of any kind, so Mom just found him something to coordinate with Jammy, and then raced back through the display of Christmas toys, squeezed in front of another family headed to the checkout, paid for the clothes (50% off), and made it to the exit (where they got stuck at a Dr. Seuss display).

Yes, Macho is wearing shorts in mid-November.  He had a soccer lesson today, but it's really not very cold here, either.

Wake Forest: Texas Roadhouse

 Jammy and Macho went to Texas Roadhouse for the first time when Jammy's school had a dinner/fundraiser. Both boys made good use of the unlimited peanuts (in the bucket on the table).  The waitress also offered unlimited bread, but Mom made Jammy stop eating bread after his third dinner roll. The food may have been good, but the boys were so full of bread and peanuts by the time it arrived, that they had to take their meals home to eat later.
It was a fun place to hang out - lots of interesting signage and taxidermy, plus the activities and information on the kid menus might be the best Mom has ever seen. Oh, and line dancing.  All of the waitstaff did a big line dance, and Macho ran over and joined them.

 

Jammy wanted to see what was on the hidden end of that goat.

Macho colored every square inch of his educational kids menu (each menu featured a different state).

Jammy was rockin' his complimentary cowboy hat . . . 

. . . when he realized that if he put it on backwards, it was an Indiana Jones hat!

Dynamite

Macho likes this video, because he likes to count the faces each time the screen changes.

Story Book

Mom had this book on her Amazon wish list because it is about an explorer from Czechoslovakia, so she was happy to find a nice copy at Ed McKay's.

Jammy found the book before Mom had a chance to show it to him, and he loves it.  He says that it is the best book that she has ever bought from that store.

Movie of the Week

The Land Before Time is Macho's new favorite. He asks for this movie again and again, "I want to watch 'Shark' Tooth Rex!"

Jammy says, "I haven't seen this movie since I was little, but it's really good."

Macho "wit' the wetters [with the letters]"

Mystery Boxes

Mom found these mysterious boxes on Macho's bed.

It's a good thing she asked him what they are, because she never would have guessed . . .

It's "fishes" and they're "all dead."

Macho explains everything, click here for the video.

Shiatsu!

For a limited time, Bed, Bath, & Beyond is offering free massages to kids who have to go shopping with their moms.

Posted on the wall at Jammy's school

Daddy, Daddy!

Macho is trying out new words.

He was watching Scooby-Doo the other day, and Fred's parents took the gang on a vacation.  After it was all over, Macho looked at Mom with satisfaction, and sighed, "Those are Fred's parents."

Mom wondered, "Do you know who your parents are?"

Macho, smiling widely, "Yes, they're my friends!"

Mom, "No, your parents are your mom and dad.  Mom and pApa are your parents."

"MY PARENTS ARE MY FRIENDS!" Macho insisted.

Since that day, every once in a while, Macho will remind Mom, "My parents are my FRIENDS."

Mom is sure that he'll figure it out eventually, so she ignores him.

From the time were born, Jammy and Macho have used a Hungarian name for their pApa - "Apuci."  Macho hears other children at school call, "Daddy!" when their fathers come to pick them up, so he's started throwing that word around a little bit, too.

He's not quite sure how to use it, Mom found out, when they were walking home from school today, and Macho picked some flowers for her.

He called out, "Daddy, Daddy, these are for you!"

Ricochet!

Today Jammy and Macho got to go see their friend Tuck's horse, Ricochet.  He is a very good horse, and the boys had a fun time.

First the boys had to go way out into the field to find Ricochet.

Then Tuck brought Ricochet back to the barn.

Mom thought that Macho would have more fun riding the horse than Jammy, but actually Jammy seemed to enjoy it more.  A couple of times, Tuck's mom had to tell Jammy to slow down because he wanted to ride Ricochet too fast.

Tuck's mom showed Jammy how to hold the reins.  Jammy liked going fast!

Macho liked riding Ricochet slowly.

Macho liked riding the horse, but he loved the donkeys and the little goats - probably because he could make friends with them more easily.  He even got to bring them some hay.

Macho Says . . .

Today Jammy and Macho stopped at Sonic for lunch, and Jammy asked for a hamburger with tater-tots.

Macho put in an order of his own for "a hamburger with tater-pots!"

Jammy says . . .

Jammy found a black bow tie that belonged to his pApa, and he was immediately inspired.

". . . when I go to church tomorrow, I want to wear this tie, with a plain white shirt, with black buttons, and black pants, and black shoes, and a black jacket and my hair cut short. That will be so handsome."

Macho says . . .

When Jammy said that his feet don't stink because they smell like candy, Macho replied,

"My feet don't smell like candy.  They smell like octagons!"

The Tumble Gym

Jammy and Macho love The Tumble Gym.
Jammy wanted to do parkour like his biggest brother, the Conman, so Mom signed Jammy up for parkour lessons at The Tumble Gym.
It didn't take long for Macho to decide that he wanted in on this parkour stuff, too.  The trouble was that the parkour class was FULL of a bunch of wild and crazy 6-8 year olds. 
So, Mom signed Macho up for a 4 year old gymnastics class that was being held at the same time as parkour.  The problem with that gymnastics class is that it is FULL of 3-5 year old girls.  Macho could hardly believe it when he finally got to take a lesson and he had to sit with the girls!
Jammy's parkour teacher is very impressive.  He's like "the crazy little kid whisperer." He's agreed to let Macho try the parkour class with the big boys next week.  Mom's fingers are crossed.
Here's some videos of Jammy trying something new and eventually nailing it.
And here's a video where one can see why it is hard to teach Macho anything.  He will do what the teacher asks, when she asks him, if she is watching, but he really doesn't care about improving his gymnastic skills.  What he really wants to do is get across the beam faster than anyone else.
(He did do well at preschool today, though.  Mrs. C.'s plan looks like a good one.)

Cutting up

Mom gave Macho a catalog to cut up with his safety scissors while Jammy was working on homework.  When Jammy was done with his work, and pApa came home, it turned into a family project.

Jammy says . . .

After more than an hour of battling the homework monster, Jammy was sent to his room for yelling at Mom in frustration.  He came out a little while later with a new attitude.

. . . "Mom, if I was a cat, I would say you are purrrr-fect - if I was a cat."

Cleaning Up

Mom told Macho that he needed to put all of the Connect 4 pieces back in the box before he could play with anything else.

Macho did what he was told and "caught all those crickets!"

Who knew that "inside the box" could be subjective?

Jammy says . . .

 . . . when he found this book laying on the kitchen counter, "What's this for?"


Mom, "That's for my friend who's about to have a baby."
Jammy, looking at the book carefully, "Won't she get mad that you're making fun of her brand new baby?"

Mr. Independent

Macho is very independent, to a fault.  Literally from the time he was born, he has wanted to make his own decisions and do things by himself.  For some reason, lots of people have a problem with that.

When Mom picked him up from school today, Mrs. C. told Mom that Macho is having a lot of trouble making good decisions.  Mrs. C. is going to be talking to the preschool's director about some ideas for helping Macho be more positively motivated to do the right thing.  They might even have some methods that Mom can try at home.  Nice!

Those teachers probably think that this is completely a parenting issue.  They might not be so sure if they heard the stories about the unbelievably creative, naughty decisions that Macho's pApa made when he was a small child.  This could be totally hereditary.  Mom is not going to be thrown under the bus for this.

After school, when Macho was eating his lunch, Mom told him that he needs to listen to Mrs. C., and when he does, he will be rewarded with treasure from the treasure box in his class.

Macho wouldn't look at Mom, but he muttered under his breath, "I'm gonna get tweasure box on my own."